Conference Agenda

Chair: Giuseppe Ottavianelli

Keynote presentations:

• Simonetta Cheli - (ESA)
• Márta Nagy-Rothengass - (Eurostat)
• Valérie Bizier - (FAO)
• Federica Marando - (ESA)

Chair: Márta Nagy-Rothengass

Chair: Valérie Bizier

Lorenzo De Simone (FAO)
Sophie Bontemps (UCL)
Zoltan Szantoi (ESA)
Ousmane Sylla (DAPSA Senegal)
Raphaël D’Andrimont (DG AGRI)

The increasing availability of Earth Observation (EO) data offers significant opportunities to modernize agricultural statistical systems. However, despite technological advances, EO integration into official agricultural statistics remains largely limited to pilot initiatives, with few countries achieving sustained operational use.

This panel will examine how EO can move from pilot applications to operational systems, focusing on institutional, methodological, and governance challenges. Drawing on the experience of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Space Agency, the session will present concrete implementation lessons, including from Senegal (DAPSA).

Discussion will address the integration of EO with surveys and administrative data, the role of in-situ data and statistical frameworks, and the institutional arrangements required for scaling and sustainability. Particular attention will be given to lessons from the use of EO within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and their relevance for operational adoption in other contexts.

Chairs: Sebastian Marcu and Rolf Maier Bode

Chairs: Zoltan Szantoi and Katja Berger

Chair: Marc Paganini

Chairs: Marc Paganini and Mónica Miguel Lago

Chairs: Federica Marando and Steven King

Chairs: Marijn van der Velde and Márta Nagy-Rothengass

Chair: Tim Lemmens

The workshop addresses challenges in accessing and integrating Earth Observation (EO) data within broader data ecosystems for official statistics. It focuses on data platforms, metadata standards, and interoperability between EO data, tools, and infrastructures and traditional statistical systems. Within this context, the workshop introduces the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem (CDSE) as an operational and accessible platform, highlighting its role, together with other public services, in supporting national data infrastructures. The session aims to explore both technical and institutional solutions to improve accessibility and usability of EO data, including in low‑resource settings, and to identify remaining barriers to adoption of these systems by statistical offices.

Participants will gain an overview of CDSE data collections and services relevant for statistics, including Sentinel data, Copernicus Land Monitoring Service products, Copernicus Contributing Missions, and options for onboarding users’ own data. Concrete examples from Eurostat will illustrate current operational use. The session is expected to generate ideas for establishing steps towards better integration of EO data into official statistical workflows.

Through guided discussion and breakout exercises, we will try to co-develop a timeline and action plan for how to provide the statistical community with:
• practical rules for spatial and temporal matching,
• criteria for assessing whether EO data and in-situ variables measure the same underlying construct,
• recommendations for validation strategies and documentation. With the participants of the workshop we will deliver a shared concept action plan, with concrete steps, responsibilities, and priority topics for future standardisation efforts.